


Yearning for the Moon

by luckystars1015



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Cross Over, universe hopping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13745235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckystars1015/pseuds/luckystars1015
Summary: A hidden power is suddenly revealed to Sailor Moon by the Silver Imperium Crystal, giving her the power to travel across universe. But she doesn't want to bare the burden of Protector of Universes. She just wants to go home. Join Sailor Moon as she jumps between universes and meets new friends and foes in search for the door to lead her back home. Yami Yugi x Serena





	1. Into the Rabbit Hole She Goes

 

A breeze caressed the side of a young girl’s face and picked up her long, golden strands of hair and tousled it in the air. Serena latched onto Darien’s arm as she dragged him to the nearest takoyaki stand. The unmasked Tuxedo Mask smiled at this love, in his present and past life, and hopefully in the next as well. He pulled out his wallet, albeit a little reluctantly as he knew how large her appetite could get sometimes. He chuckled. Well, anything for his princess and his future queen.

Darien’s smile grew fonder at Serena as she took in an entire takoyaki ball. The schoolgirl yelped as its piping heat and damaged to her tongue within its first contact. But she would never spit out something her dear boyfriend had bought her. The masked protector by night chuckled at his girlfriend. “You can spit it out if it’s too hot, you know.”

She gave him an adorable pout and shook her head. The meatball head drew up an index finger to signal him to give her a moment and proceeded to swallow the hot takoyaki ball. The tall man gave her a small smile, his heart almost overflowing with endearment for his princess. He had missed her dearly and wanted to make up for the time they had been separated.

As they rounded the corner of the familiar arcade, the couple met the rest of the group. She ran to hug them tightly, joyfully laughing all the way. It was the first time they were together after the battle with Galaxia. This was the impeccable scene. Of Serena with her friends and her love. She had it all in this one moment.

If she knew she would lose it all in the next, she would have hugged them tighter. Would have laughed more. Would have kissed Darien one more time. Would have told each and every one of them that she loved them more than life itself.

Without any notice, no big shift in the universe, no explosion, not even an implosion, Serena slowly started dissipating. At first, even she hadn’t even noticed. But when she tried to take a step to follow her friends, she fell. They laughd endearingly. Classic clumsy Serena. But Darien, who had immediately went to her side, yelled with horror that her foot was disappearing into specks of light.

For a moment, she did not believe it herself. She tried to pat her phantom limbs, to prove to her friends and herself that she did indeed exist. But to no avail. Her skin transformed into flecks of light that would float into the air like dandelion seeds. As her shins began to disappear, so did her fingers. She started floating, the loss of limbs making her weightless. Darien, Rei, Ami, Lita, Mina, Luna, and Artemis reached out for her floating, disappearing figure, all screaming her name. They did not care that they were causing a scene. Several heads turned to the phenomenon. Others paced on, dismissing the event at some filming stunt not worthy the distraction. Some deadlines were more important things a disappearing girl. Their apathy went unnoticed by the people who were screaming Serena’s name in despair.

Serena could do nothing as she disappeared. She reached out for them, her translucent fingers stretched towards her beloved prince. Even the tears that she shed for her beloved weren’t allowed to exist in this world any longer as they too, dissolved into nothing. Once again, they were helpless in a fate bigger than them. A fate that would do anything and everything to attain her. It was cruel. But it was an ageless truth.

\---  
She woke up with a migraine. It was as if a thousand small hammers were banging against the perimeter of her skull. And. It. Was. Painful. She did not even want to open her eyes. For some reason, behind her eyelids, she saw the imprint of lights from all directions. She willed her eyes open.

The sight before ripped all words out of her mouth before she could even begin to form them. She didn’t know whether to be amazed or terrified. Around her were so many orbs emitting a bright blue light. They floated in space just as she did in front of her friends. Except the orbs didn’t seem to have anywhere to go.

Serena’s ears pick up the sound of heels echoing off marble floors. But that was impossible because there were no discernable floors in the world she existed in. There was only space. A blue, endless space that encompassed her like an ocean.

“Hello, Serenity.” Hearing the sound of a familiar voice, she leapt to her feet and ran toward what she thought to be the source. As she did so, her mind began to register that she was no longer in her civilian clothing, but the fluttering pearl white dress of her past life.

It was Sailor Pluto. And if it was Pluto’s voice, then it must mean she was in the Space Time Continuum. She ran several paces before Sailor Pluto’s voice spoke again.

“Princess, do not waste your energy in trying to find me. I do not exist in that plane as my powers do not--cannot extend there.”

“What are you talking about, Pluto? Where am I? Why am I here?” she begged to the woman as she ceased her fruitless search for the space-time keeper.

“Princess, turn around and look carefully at the orb in front of you.”

The blonde girl did as she was told. The closest sphere was bright and glowing so it took several moments for her to adjust to understand what she was seeing. She gasped when the sight hit her. It was the scene she had just left from. Darien and all her girl friends were frantically looking for her, desperately calling out her name. Although their voices did not carry over to where she was, she could imagine their cries in her head. She yearned to return to their arms. With no hesitation, she ran toward the sphere with all her might, ignoring Pluto’s cry for her to stop.

“Wait, Princess! If you do that, you’ll--” the Sailor Scout warned, but before she could finish, Serena reached the sphere that contained her friends and was immediately repelled. It felt like she had ran full force into an electric fence. An electrifying pain shot through her and fried all of her nerves. It was if a thousand needles were pounded into her skin at once. She cried out in pain and crumbled to the ground. The moon princess sat there, convulsing, as tears poured down her face from the agony. It took several moments for the blinding pain to ebb away.

When her senses finally came back to her, she could hear Pluto’s worried voice calling out to her in her head. “Pluto, please tell me what’s going on. Why can’t I go back to my friends?”

She heard the tanned woman take in a breath and imagined that she was steadying herself. Worry began to curl the insides of her stomach.

“Princess, as the heir to the Silver Millennium Crystal and the future Neo-Queen Serenity, you are tasked with a burden that only you can bear.”

Puzzled, Serena pushed further, “what are you talking about, Pluto?” Her mind raced. What more could there be to being the future protector of the universe?

“Princess Serenity, you are not only the protector of your universe, but all universes.”

The Lunar Princess’s mind went blank as she attempted to process those words. She let the words saturate her mind, but it was if the words were being repelled like a difficult math formula she could never comprehend. She was glad she was still on the floor, her knees splayed out under her, because she did not have the strength to get up. Even if she did, that sentence would have knocked her off her feet. Serena stared at her hands in her lap, still shell shocked.

“My Princess, please look up. Look carefully at the orbs around you.” She did as Pluto commanded. She craned her neck upwards to assess the scenery in front of her. Slowly but surely, she began to distinguish scenes inside the orbs, just like with her own world. She saw people flourishing on fantastical lands she had only seen in movies. She saw warriors fighting on a battle arena as the cheers of the crowd shook the stadium. In other spheres, she saw forms that were as far from human as could be. However, from some spheres, she could distinguish a sadness that drew her to them. In those spheres, she saw blood splattered everywhere, painting the world in a sea of red. It was terrifying and too much for her to process. She clutched her eyes shut, unable to look at any other orb, scared of what she would find.

“Pluto… are you telling me that each of these orbs contain a universe?” the revelation came crashing down on her like a thousand worlds.

“Yes, you are correct. From what I understand, each orb contains a universe, sometimes even more.”

In an unidentifiable tone she asked, “So there might be a plane such as this in one of those orbs?”

“Perhaps. I do not have all the answers. I only know the details that your mother spared me through her journeys as I am unable to travel through the worlds myself. My powers only work in our world.”

“Wait! You’re telling me that my mother also did this as well?! I don’t remember any such thing from my previous life.”

“Of course not. Not all your memories of your last incarnation were restored. It’s better that way. There is no reason to relive them. Plus, these duties would not have been revealed to you until the crystal deemed that you were ready to receive them. It seems that after your battle with Chaos, the crystal has deemed you ready to begin your journey as Protector of Universes.”

Whether incapacitated by shock or incredulity, Serena did not say anything so the time keeper continued.

“This is speculation, but I surmise that the crystal is the reason you cannot return to your home world. Simply, it will not let you take the throne of Neo Queen Serenity in Crystal Tokyo until you fulfill its requirements. Before you ask, I do not know what those are. Just as I guard the secrets of time in our world, Queen Selenity kept the secrets of universe traveling under tight guard. Only the heirs to the Lunar Dynasty are able to inherit the powers and secrets bestowed to them by the Silver Imperium Crystal.”

“I can’t do it.” Pluto said nothing to Serena’s answer. “Even if I could, how long would jumping in between worlds to fulfill some kind of wild goose chase for the crystal take? Months? Years?”

The Princess of the Moon felt her tears well up within her.

Pluto replied in careful and controlled manner, knowing that her answer would not be taken well. “It might take decades. Perhaps centuries.”

Centuries were like a drop of water in an ocean to the Goddess of Time. Although she had not been there for the birth of the universe, she knew that she had been in existence long enough to no longer feel the passage of time. Her ageless body and mind made sure of that. It hurt when she had to watch the Moon Kingdom fall, and it hurt much more the second time when Crystal Tokyo fell to the hands of the Black Moon Kingdom. But Pluto quelled the surge of pain in her as she watch the destruction of her fellow soldiers. She did not even resort to escape to the past or future when Sailor Galaxia came to destroy her. That was how committed she was to her duty. But the agony that flooded through her as she watch her future queen crumble to the floor made her wished that she were by her side right now. This immortality was a curse and now her princess had to bare the same fate as her.

Immediately the dam holding back her tears broke at such a harsh revelation and Serena could do nothing but let the sobs wrack through her whole body. She thought back to the last battle. The battle that had taken everything out of her. The one that had taken everyone from her. Her loyal Sailor Scouts. Her Darien. Their future daughter. She had just lost them all and the only thing holding her together was one small seed of hope inside her soul. It was so small and fragile but it was the thing that had saved them all. Maybe that’s what the Silver Imperium Crystal had seen and had deemed as what Serena needed to begin her ascension to her throne. But this new found power was not a gift, it was a curse if it prevented her from seeing her loved ones.

“Princess...I know this is very difficult to process. There’s only one thing I can do to help you in your journey on my side. I can stop time in this universe. While you may return for an unidentifiable amount of time later, while you may change, I can guarantee the people you care about will not. No harm will come to them because nothing will happen. I know this is not much of a consolation considering the difficulties you will face in your upcoming journey, but it is all I can offer.”

Pluto gave the crying Princess one more mental nudge, “my future Queen, there is one more thing I must tell you. Stopping time is the most grievous crime a Time Guardian can commit. As much as I wish to be there for you, even if it’s just my voice, stopping time entails that I must also be trapped within the time itself. But I believe that you will gain the power to come back to us and restart time again. I, and all your loved ones, wholeheartedly believe in you, Princess, so always have faith in yourself. Please always remember that we love you.”

As the words sank into Serena, she put all of her energy into her legs and forced them to move. To do something other than sit there and helplessly watch. Dammit, she was Sailor Moon, daughter of the Moon Kingdom, future Queen of Crystal Tokyo, and sole wielder of the Silver Imperium Crystal! She shot up and ran towards the large sphere containing her home and friends. She reached her hand out in a hopeless attempt to put a stop to Pluto’s plans.

“Stop Pluto! There must be another way!” she cried as tears streamed down her face.

Ignoring the tearful pleas of her princess, Sailor Pluto, fated daughter of Chronos, took the Garnet Orb from its rightful place in her staff, and crushed it within her fingers, causing everything to still within the universe. It was instantaneous. The blood stop coursing through her body. On Earth, the Sailor Scouts and Darien were frozen in their spot, their faces etched with desperation as their search for their beloved friend and lover permanently ceased. Rivers stopped flowing and birds paused in mid-flight. The moon stopped revolving around its beloved earth. Black holes paused in their destruction. Supernovas simply stilled as its splatter permanently stained the cosmos.

The moon princess saw all these images through the orb in the instant she touched it. Unfortunately for her, the simultaneous impact of her contact and Sailor Pluto’s shattering of the time-space continuum blasted Serena backwards. The electrifying pain was almost a hundred times worse and Serena promptly blacked out as her nerves were singed to the very core. Her unconscious body was thrown towards a glowing sphere and it absorbed her without a second thought.

Serena began her descent into a dark and infinite abyss.


	2. Believe in the Heart of the Cards

A gray spiky-haired old man basked peacefully in front of his shop, humming an old tune as he sweeped fallen leaves from cluttering the entrance. The shop behind him stood proudly under the bright, sunny sky, the letters “GAME” glinting in the sunlight. 

Today was surely going to be a good day. Solomon Muto felt it in his bones. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a delivery truck nearing the front of his store. The truck came to a stop and a delivery woman stepped out of the vehicle. Before long, she approached the greying grandpa with a box and a clipboard. She handed a small cardboard box twice the size of his hands to the shop owner with one hand, and with the other, held out the board for his signature. The exchange was quick and simple and the delivery woman was already on her way to her next delivery. 

“Ah! I knew today was going to be was going to be a good day. An old man’s intuition is never wrong,” he mused. Solomon quickly entered his shop and went behind the counter. He grabbed a box cutter and cut the box open to reveal several decks of trading cards. The Muto elder placed the cards onto his glass countertop and began sifting through them. He organized them by categories: monster, trap, and spell cards. A ‘Monster Reborn’ card here, a Harpies card there. These were the typical sought after cards that garnered the most profits in his shop to keep it afloat. 

Reaching the last face down card, he felt a strange pull towards it, which was odd because he never felt such a thing unless he was in the middle of a game. Turning it over, a small gasp escaped him as his eyes widened and his brows shot up to the top of his forehead. It was the most mystical card he had ever seen, rivaling the mystique of even the God Card he had seen in Yugi’s possession. 

The figure contained in the card was an undeniably beautiful woman with shining, silver hair. Long locks of silver trailed from two heart shaped buns that sat on each side of her forehead. Her form-fitting sailor outfit was white except for one part on her skirt, filled with stripes of all colors. She possessed a foreboding staff taller than her in her left hand. The most striking thing about the card was the fact that although her mouth was set in a stern expression, her eyes betrayed the warmth underneath it. While the card subject was an oddity in itself, its strangeness was nothing compared to the content on the rest of the card. Actually, the oddness more so lied in the lack of content. The power status, attribute, and even the name betrayed nothing to the old-time collector. He couldn’t even discern whether it was a monster or a spell card. It was simply blank, filled with open spaces and question marks. 

Upon further inspection, he saw a short inscription within the card description box: “Card abilities will be revealed when activated.” He stroke his chin in wonder. He had never seen a card such as this in all of his years as a dueler and card collector. Perhaps, this was a new set of cards released in secret by Pegasus. He wouldn’t put it past the eccentric man. If that were the case, then he was sure a lucky man to happen on such a wondrous find. Especially a beautiful one such as this one. 

He put the card in the front pocket of his overalls, the safest place he knew. He was sure to show this to his grandson later when he returned home from school.  
\--

Yugi Muto let out a great sigh as he walked home from school. His friends had already parted with him three quarters of the way home and he was silently grateful for his time alone. Well, not exactly “alone.”

“What’s wrong, Yugi?” his other self asked. An older, darker self. 

He let out one more sigh for measure. “Sorry, Pharaoh. It’s just things have been getting awfully weird lately. Especially the mime incident from last week. I mean, I’m grateful we won Slifer the Sky Dragon from that battle, but it really drained me. I don’t think I can take another unusual incident any time soon.” 

“Yugi, you have the soul of an unnamed Pharaoh possessing you. I don’t think it can get any stranger than that,” the said soul smirked. 

He smiled as his mood lifted from the joke. He forgot that sometimes Yami made those. “Yea, I guess you’re right.”

Approaching his grandpa’s game shop, he opened the door and called out “I’m home” to check if he were there or upstairs. 

“Ah, Yugi!” the old man greeted, “come back here. I have something to show you! A new card delivery came in today!”

Both Yugi and Yami perked up at the mention of new cards. Hurriedly, he raced to the back of the shop. The spiky-haired teen hugged his grandfather hello and made his way to the table with several small stacks of cards. He took his deck out of his dueling disk and placed it on the table as well. 

“Take your pick,” the Muto elder chirped, “you’ll need whatever leverage you can get with the Battle City Tournament roaring up!”

As the young boy shuffled through the stacks of new cards, muttering to himself as he read the card descriptions, his grandpa reached into his pocket and slipped a facedown card into his deck without the occupied teen noticing. His other self, however, narrowed his eyes on the action, but did not make any attempt to alert Yugi. He noticed that the spiky-haired gameowner had a proud and knowing smile on his face. Knowing that the doting grandfather would never in a million years do something as heinous as sabotaging someone’s deck, especially that of his grandson, the dark soul kept quiet. He guessed he, along with Yugi, would find out sooner or later in the arena. Adding a little mystery would make the game more interesting. 

The old game shopkeeper mentally applauded himself at the great sleight of hand he just accomplished. A distracted audience was the best one. He had originally planned to show Yugi the card the minute the boy got home. But then he had a change of heart. He thought it be more fun if the young dueler discovered the card in the midst of a battle. After all, what was a dueler with no tricks.  
\--  
The good weather continued into the weekend. Many duelers saw this is as a blessing and made their trek into the city in pursuit of holders of locator cards. One young man and his group of friends were no different as they walked through the city. The streets were bustling with raw competitive energy as duels caused crowds to gather from one corner to the next. 

A multi-colored spiky haired boy struggled to make his way through the crowds. Due to his small stature, he was getting shoved left and right as he tried to make his way to the front of the spectators. The boy was too gentle and worried about hurting other people to attempt to force his way, so with a defeated side, he let himself be thrown back to the streets. 

“Darn it, I was really hoping to watch this battle as a mental warm up,” he picked himself up from the ground and swatted the dirt from his pants. He turned his head left and right and stood on the balls of feet.

“Looks like I lost Joey and the rest of them too,” he sweatdropped. 

HIs other self folded his arms and looked down at his reincarnated self, “Perhaps you can send them an electronic message on your small black device.”

The younger Yugi chuckled at the suggestion, but pulled out his flip phone nonetheless. “I forgot how well you seem to acclimate to today’s technology. You’re right though. It’d be better than trying to find them in this chaos.”

He scanned his surroundings once more and spotted a small, emptier park at the end of the road. He sent the message “let’s meet at the park when you can.” He suspected that Joey was either in search of a duel or lunch. And wherever Joey went, Tristan was by his side. Tea was probably trying to get the group back together so she would probably be the first to get his message. A soft blush sprinkled across the young boy’s face at the thought of his friend but he quickly shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He didn’t want his head in the clouds today. An amused smile painted Yami’s face as he clearly saw through Yugi’s thoughts. When the boy got flustered, it was easy to read his unguarded mind. 

The Muto boy started pacing towards the park. He was just about to reach the top of the tallest hill, but a small, fast body hit him and they both fell down. 

The spirit quickly called out to Yugi, asking if he was okay as he was trying to get his bearings. He rubbed his head, trying to soothe the bump forming. “Wow,” he mused, “this is the second time I’ve been knocked to the floor in five minutes. That’s a new record even for me.”

When the sharp pain finally receded, he was able to open his eyes and examine the weight still on top of him. First of all, his vision was filled with a bubble gum pink which he never thought possible to be a hair color. Though Yugi knew he shouldn’t be one to talk about strange hair colors. At the child-like feminine “ow” that resounded from the unknown figure on top of him, he figured it was a young girl. 

The small girl drew back from the taller boy and the two took that moment to size each other up. The child had a hairstyle that he dared say rivaled his in strangeness. Her hair was tied up into two cotton candy pigtails with cone-shaped buns sitting at the top. Her odd hairstyle along with her shining red eyes reminded Yugi of a bunny rabbit. She was wearing a short navy skirt and a sailor white button up that stopped at her shoulders. A red ribbon sat in the center of her chest. Although Yugi was still lying on the ground, he placed her height to be around his waist. Based on her appearance, she must have been an elementary schooler. 

Finally breaking from his trance caused by the unusual girl in front of him, he finally realized that she was staring intently at him. He rose and put his hand on the back of his head in his classic nervous position of apologetic humility. Yugi let out a soft chuckle, “Sorry about that. I wasn’t watching where I was going. I hope you’re alright. I probably softened the landing for you.”

“Are you the King of Games?” the small girl asked without missing a beat. 

Taken aback, the high school teen stumbled a bit before meekly replying, “w-what?”

“You are him, right? If you are, I want to challenge you a to a duel,” the pink-haired girl looked at him with piercing eyes. 

“What?” he lamely said once again, paralyzed by her audacity. 

Frustration furrowed her brows, “what don’t you understand? I’m challenging you to a duel.”

Still, nothing came to his mind. He didn’t know how to react to this situation. He had never been face with such ferocity by someone who seemed to weigh less than a cloud before. Well, his mind flashed back to a sandy-haired girl clutching a teddy bear. 

“Yugi,” the ancient spirit’s voice drew him from his reverie, “why are you getting pushed around by someone half your size?”

Mentally, he voiced his protest, “how am I supposed to reject someone like her?”

Yami smirked knowingly, “Sometimes, you’re too kind for your own good.”

“What does that mean--” he started to protest but his counterpart interrupted him.

“Let me handle this,” the darker side of him commanded. Not seeing any other option, he relented and allowed the spirit to take over his body. 

A gust of wind swirled around him, momentarily blinding the small girl. She lifted her arms to cover her eyes to prevent any dust to hit her. When she dropped her arms, the figure before her seemed to have grown taller. Even his hair changed, appearing spikier than before. The most dynamic shift was in his eyes. Instead of the soft round eyes that had barely had the confidence to look at her before, a hard pointed look glared at her instead. He now had his arms folded and glowered at the rabbit-like girl. The scene was akin to a predator holding the gaze of a prey. Except this prey was unwilling to back down. 

“Look here, little bunny,” the teen who used to be Yugi said in a much deeper voice, “I don’t have time to humor you. Now run along.”

“Yami! You don’t have to be so rude,” Yugi chided but his admonishment went ignored. 

She huffed at the nickname clearly meant to demean her, “what? Are you too scared to accept my challenge, King of Games?”

A vein ticked at her sneering use of his title. The flames of his pride licked at his inside. Usually he was more level-headed but he had been itching for a duel this morning. Plus, he liked the fire in her eyes. 

“Alright, I accept your challenge,” the Pharaoh said definitively. 

The small girl gave a smirk that rivaled his own and pulled at a cat-shaped ball. The two Yugis were a bit confused to how they had both failed to notice a ball larger than her head. 

She proceeded to bounce it like a basketball and yelled out, “abracadabra, Luna-P!” Suddenly, both Yami and Yugi were blinded by the cat ball exploding in a flurry of pink smoke. When the smoke settled, there stood the rabbit-like girl with a duel disk almost as large as her entire body. The sight was almost comical and both men wondered how she hadn’t fallen over with the duel disk that seemed to engulf her. 

As the two duelist stepped into position in the still sparsely populated park, Yugi continued watching her over Yami’s shoulder. He looked into her passion-filled eyes. It was like she was on a mission to accomplish something greater than herself and she would stop at nothing to lose. 

“Yami,” he began, “be careful of this one.”

—

The duel began as any other. A few starter monsters in position. Yami placed his trusted Celtic Night Guardian in position. The familiar feel of the cards in his fingers soothed the ache he had been feeling since this morning. He knew this deck like the back of his hand. Yugi’s presence and advice was comforting as the battle drew on. 

He had to give the little girl credit. She was good at holding her own. At first, Yami wanted to laugh a bit at the way her deck seemed to really fit her. It was a fairy type deck with lots of pink and flowery monsters. It was his first time seeing a such a thing and he realized that it was because he often more than not dueled men instead of women. 

There was one thing he had been right about. She had a lot of rabbit-type monster and spell cards. It was pretty amazing to see that much fluff and pink on the dueling field. He actually appreciated it. It was a good change of pace compared to the more dark duels that he’s had recently where he and Yugi’s life or soul was put in jeopardy. 

Yugi, on his part, was being uncharacteristically quiet. He preferred to study the small girl and try to figure out the pattern. He hadn’t voiced much of his thoughts so far other than his advice for the taller man to be careful of his opponent. Yami had let the advice slide off his shoulders, not taking it very seriously as he continued to battle the girl in pink. 

However, his thought process finally shifted during the second half of the battle. How did he know it was the second half? Because slowly but surely, the cotton pink haired girl had whittled his life points down to 2000, while hers were at a comfortable 3300. 

How did come to happen? 

Yugi spoke up in his mind. “While her monsters have low attack points, they have a relatively high defense. Her spell cards strengthen her monsters by softening up our attack damage. While we haven’t been managing to make a big hit on her, she’s been chipping away at our life points a lot quicker than what we’ve been able to do to her.”

The usually quiet teen surveyed the large pile of rabbits spilling onto the field. “She has little bunny rabbits that’s been taking the large attacks, much like our Kuribo, except it seems like she has an infinite resource for those. Her trap card allows them to multiply at every turn. Unless we can conduct one large attack, then we won’t be able to get through her defense.” 

This was the first time something as vital as the gap in his life points slipped his notice. His hubris was blinding him and it had been too late before he had finally understood.

His mind flicked to the thought of Slifer the Sky Dragon except he shook his head at the ridiculousness of it. He didn’t walk into this duel planning to summon a God card against a defenseless little girl. Well, at the start of this duel, he didn’t think he had to resort to his ultimate God card period. 

This little bunny was a lot more than he bargained for and he smiled at the thought. He was lucky then to have had engaged in battle with her. She was teaching him a thing or two about letting pride shroud your judgement. And about how looks don’t determine the prowess of a dueler. 

As the battle waged on and he summoned two more monsters to the field, Dark Magician and Kuribo, his friends showed up to the park. 

“Hey Yuge!” Joey greeted with a little bit of ketchup at the corner of his lips. 

Téa had Tristan in tow by the elbow and she was panting as she walked up the side of the hill. 

“Sorry we’re late Yugi! These two nimrods have a complicated relationship with food, and I had a difficult time trying to get them here,” the tall girl looked exasperatedly between her two so-called friends. Sometimes they acted more like children. Yugi was the most calm and level-headed of the group so she much prefer being by his side than having to herd these two around. 

She finally looked at what Yugi was doing and gasped. He was battling a young girl, probably still in elementary school. 

Tristan, who stood beside her gasped. “Oh man, that little girl has the upper hand.”

Téa didn’t understand what he was talking about until she compared the life points between the two duelists. She let out a small surprised gasp. How was that possible?

Joey, on his part, had quieted down as he studied the scene before him, trying to figure out the moves that got Yugi in this position. Unfortunately, he wasn’t too familiar with fairy type cards so he was at a loss when he saw the mountains upon mountains of rabbits on the field. 

The little girl spoke up, not bothered one bit by the new spectators who had arrived. “I activate my spell card which only allows a hundred monsters on the field.”

Yugi and the rest of his crew furrowed their eyebrows, confused about such a move as, nearly half the rabbits disappeared. However, she was still left with dozens to cushion her defense. 

“I have ninety-eight monsters on my side. You have two. That totals to a hundred. If you want to add anymore monsters to the field, you will have to destroy at least one of mine,” she paused to let the realization sink into her opponent, “but you can’t do that because my bunnies will always regenerate before you can put down another monster card.”

Yami glared at the pink-haired school kid who had successfully ensnared him in her trap. How did she know about the requirement that it took three monsters to summon a God Card? How did she even know he had a God card? He only attained it a week ago and still hadn’t actually used in a duel. The news shouldn’t have gotten out at all unless Kaiba said something. But that didn’t sound like something Kaiba would do. The man had his limits to what he was willing to do to win. 

No, this girl was something else. Something he hadn’t expected at all. She had him entrapped and he didn’t know what to do. He either needed a spell or trap card that invalidated hers. But how long would it take for him to reach those cards in his deck? It was a battle of time at this point. She would chip away at his life points little by little and he had to withstand it until he found the right card. A sweat drop rolled down his forehead. To the untrained eye, Yami seemed as stoic as ever, unfazed by the predicament he found himself in. But Yugi knew it was different story underneath. He put a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder. 

“It’s alright, Yami. Believe in the heart of the cards.”

The dark spirit gave a small nod of acknowledgement. He looked down at his deck and he bit back a gasp of surprise. The next card he was due to draw seemed to be shining, calling—almost yearning—for him to draw it. Yugi noticed it too as his attention was solely on the card. 

Yami placed two fingers on the card and withdrew it tentatively, as if it would crumble in his hand with too much pressure. When he finally turned it over, he didn’t hold back a gasp this time. He’d never seen a card such as this. For one, most of the card stats had been blank and for two, there was a striking goddess-like beauty of the figure in the card. There was no way of knowing if this card was a monster or spell card. The only clue to what the card could do was the instruction to activate it. 

Yami steadied himself. He had nothing left to lose. He placed the card on his duel disk. Slowly, the card appeared on the arena. One second felt like a hundred as Yugi and his friends watched the figure appear on the field. She was even more beautiful in real life even though she was still only a hologram. 

Joey almost fell back, “wait I’ve never seen that card in Yugi’s deck before.”

“It’s so lifelike,” marveled Téa. She was in awe of the celestial being in front of her. Her hair was shining under the sunlight. Her sailor skirt did nothing to hide her long, toned legs that any dancer would be jealous of. Her eyes were a clear cerulean like the skies hanging over them. The woman who appeared from the card had a small, pointed nose and lush pink lips. If she had been real, Téa supposed she would have had men lining up to just get a glimpse of her. 

It seemed that Tristan had a similar line of thought because all that came out of his mouth was a breathless “wow.”

Yami, reminding himself that he was still amidst a duel, broke out of his mesmerized trance and said the only command knew. 

“ATTACK!” 

The sailor-clad soldier raised her scepter and held it in front of her with both hands. She began spinning her weapon as light gathered at the jeweled top. As she continued to spin her weapon, everyone watched with a bated breath. Everyone but Yugi. Yugi seemed to be the only one who noticed that she was crying. Rivulets of tears streamed down her cheeks as she span her weapon. It was a somber sight, one that made Yugi’s heart clench in pain and sympathy.

“Yami, I think there’s something wrong! We should st--” but the boy was cut off from trying to alert the ancient spirit of his worry by an echoing cry. 

“Silver Moon Crystal Power!” 

The god-like being had stopped spinning her staff and pointed it directly at her pink-haired opponent. A burst of blinding white light exploded from the scepter and blew away all the opponent’s monsters, bunnies and all. The bunny girl’s life points dwindled to zero in the blink of an eye. The energy from the blast not only blinded the spectators but blew them a couple of feet away as well. Yami and friends were knocked off their feet. 

Everyone, except for the pink haired girl, had been shielding their eyes from the explosion of light. She faced the tearful gaze of the silver haired soldier. A wistful smile painted her face. She brought a small thumbs up and gave the beauty a soft reply that no one could hear. 

“Good luck, moon mama.” And with that Rini, the pink-haired bunny girl, disappeared into the light. All evidence that she was there went with her. There was no duel disk, no deck, no large cat ball with a moon on its forehead. 

When the light finally subsided, Yami was still on the ground, clutching his head due to a headache caused by the energy from the blast. It was odd. It seemed as if the blinding attack was meant for him as well. With his eyes still shut, his counterpart frantically floated around him. He could hear sounds from his duel disk that signaled that the duel was over. That meant that the one attack from the mystery card dealt more than 3000 points worth of damage. Astounding, he had never seen such a card like that. He wondered if he would ever encounter something like that again. 

As his duel monsters and spell cards dissolved from the field, Tea, Joey, and Tristan slowly got their bearings back. They slowly opened their eyes to discover something so shocking that they were rendered immobile. The last card that Yugi had summoned was still standing on the field. Maybe it was a glitch in the hologram system, but Yugi’s opponent had disappeared and all other monsters had dissolved as well. There was no way for her to still have a form in this world. 

“Yugi,” Joey yelled, “look! Your card’s still there!”

Still reeling from the migraine he was experiencing, he couldn’t hear the commotion his friends were making. 

“Yami, let’s switch. I can take it from here,” the once anxious boy said definitively, leaving no room for argument in his tone. Yami acquiesced and switch the positions of their souls so now Yugi was back in the driver’s seat again. When he returned to his spirit form, he found that his headache was ebbing away and his senses were coming back to him. Both he and Yugi rose from the ground to look at the aftermath of the battle. 

When both their sights narrowed to the silver-haired woman who was inexplicably still on the field, they finally understood what their friends had been yelling about. Tentatively, they made a step towards the silver beauty. 

As if sensing their intention, the mystery card monster turned around to face them. There were still tears latched onto her lashes, threatening to fall. Upon realizing the woman’s tears, Yami felt a stab of guilt. Had he forced her to do something she had been unwilling to do? But how could he have known? Cards didn’t have will. At this point though, all witnesses to the mystery being’s sentient appearance, from her tears to her movement came to the conclusion that she was not a simple card monster. 

The sailor-suited girl opened her pink lips just a fraction, as if to speak, but without warning, collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Tea had yelped as she was the closest to the woman. A final tear rolled down her face to be absorbed into the ground below.


	3. Stuck in a Wishing Well

 

 

“Well, what do we do now?” Joey asked the group, but it felt more like he was talking to the air from the lack of responses he received. 

 

Tea was the only one with enough courage to get close enough to the fainted girl to lightly poke her arm. “She’s real alright.”

 

Everyone flinched when she had done so, expecting the strangely dressed woman to spring back to life. 

 

Being the voice of reason in the group, Tea continued, “well, we can’t just keep standing around, staring at an unconscious girl like this. We have to do something or else we’re going to attract attention.”

 

Tristan threw an index finger up when an idea popped up into his head, “wait, what if we take her to Kaibacorp? Maybe Kaiba has something to do with this. It was his dueling-hologram system afterall. What if this is just a glitch in the system?”

 

Tea looked at the brunette incredulously, “what kind of glitch allows a monster card to attain a body?”

 

“If that’s true, I’m glad Yuge didn’t summon Slifer,” Joey chimed in. They all shuddered at the thought of the gargantuan two mouthed dragon flying through Domino City. 

 

“Wait, where is the little girl?” Yugi scanned the park for any glimpse of pink, but to no avail.

 

“Guess she left during the light show,” Joey commented offhandedly. They all decided to drop the matter and return to the more pressing one at hand.

 

Yami, with his eyes still on the unconscious girl, finally disclosed what he had seen last night in the Muto household. “I saw your grandfather slip a new card into our deck last night when you weren’t looking. Maybe he knows something.”

 

“Wait!” Yugi looked at the spirit possessing him offendedly, “why didn’t you say something about this earlier?”

 

“I thought it was a simple trap or spell card. There was no way I could it have known it was something like this,” the dark spirit tried to defend himself. Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Yugi decided to let the ancient spirit off the hook and turned back to his friends. 

 

“I think my grandfather might know something about this. He just got a new shipment of cards in yesterday. Maybe this card  _ accidentally _ came into my deck,” he said, clearly meaning to direct the sentence at Yami. “So let’s take her back to Grandpa’s shop,” Yugi finished. 

 

“Well, that’s the first real suggestion I’ve heard,” Tea said, “come on, Joey, help her onto Tristan’s back.”

 

The process of lifting the passed out woman was uncomfortable to say the least. The group couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about transporting a comatose woman around. When Joey grabbed the girl under her shoulders and lifted her onto Tristan’s back, both men were surprised about how light she weighed. 

 

“Wow, it’s like her bones are hollow,” Tristan commented while adjusting her on his back. Yugi went ahead to pick up her forgotten staff, hand prickling at the power still thrumming through it. 

 

The sun had dipped beneath the horizon by the time they made it back to Yugi’s grandpa’s shop, what with trying to avoid the busier streets of the city. The remaining rays of the sun basked the shop in a soft, orange glow.

 

The group made the trek upstairs and entered the spiky-haired teen’s living room. Tristan kneeled before the couch and carefully maneuvered the still sleeping girl onto it. She fit snugly onto the furniture piece with her hands folded across her stomach. Some of her hair spilled off the side of the couch, creating a silver, flowing river onto the floor. The slumbering silver-haired woman looked so out of place in Yugi’s plain, domestic living room. Looking at the soft rise and fall of her chest, Yugi likened her to a princess meant to be encased in glass. 

 

Tea looked at the guys in the room to ask their next step, but she scoffed judgingly when she saw that their eyes all seemed to be fixated on the silver-haired beauty’s shapely legs. Without a word, she grabbed a blanket she saw on a nearby chair and covered the woman. All the men in the room shifted their gaze away, guilty of having been caught staring. Even Yami coughed, feeling embarrassed that he, too, was entranced by the woman’s beauty even though no one could technically see his spiritual form. 

 

After taking her winged glass shoes off, Tea wondered what kind of girl wears glass heels as her fingers ran along the smooth glass. But then she remembered that this woman appeared out of a monster card and dismissed the thought. Blame the designer, not the model. Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw that it was well passed the time she was expected to return home from their day out. 

 

“Whoops, looks like I have to go home before my ears fall off from another one of my mom’s lectures,” Tea said, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

 

“Oh shit,” exclaimed Joey, “my dad’s gonna rip me a new one.”

 

“Damn, I gotta head back to,” Tristan added. Looking over to Yugi, “call us if anything happens.” 

 

They all said their goodbyes before the three headed down the stairs to headout. 

 

Joey looked backed to the lit room on the second floor from which they had just left. “Do you think he’ll be fine?”

 

Tea glared at Joey pointedly, “oh please, out of the three of you, he’s the best candidate for the job. I wouldn’t trust the two of you with an unconscious woman.”

 

Offended, Tristan shot back, “what does that mean?”

 

“I saw the way you guys were looking at her legs,” she accused. 

 

“We’re guys, Tea, that’s what we do.”

 

“Ugh,” spat the disgusted girl.

 

They began to walk back home, bickering along the way. Yugi sweatdropped, hearing their skirmish from inside his house. 

 

"So what do we do now before my grandpa gets back," Yugi pondered.

 

"Perhaps we should look at the card again," Yami suggested, "maybe it can provide us with more clues."

 

Yugi pulled out the deck from the holder on his hips and shifted through the cards. He went through half the deck until he found a card that captured his attention. It was a blank card essentially. No attributes, power lever, or attack points. It was alike the silver-haired maiden’s card except even the picture was empty now. 

 

"How is this possible? Did she  _ literally _ come out of the card?" Yugi asked. 

 

"This is similar to when Pegasus trapped souls of your grandfather and Mokuba into the cards." Yugi winced at the memory. Yami apologized, not meaning to rub a sore wound. 

 

"Do you think Pegasus is doing something like that again?" 

 

"No, I think after what happened at Battle Kingdom, he's become more subdued. And I don't feel any dark energy from this card. In fact, it's quite the opposite. There is a residual light energy emanating from it," Yami explained, still perplexed. He didn't know if "light" was the correct term to what he should use. But it did feel like the opposite of darkness. 

 

"Perhaps...we could try to put her back in the card?" Yami said in an unsure tone. 

 

"What?" Yugi's mouth dropped open at the idea. 

 

"Well, I don't see any other option of trying to figure this situation out. If she's trapped, we can always summon her again."

 

Yugi looked doubtful but the spirit had a point. There didn't seem to be anything else to do other than waiting. Who knows what she would do when she woke up? Or if she woke up for that matter. 

 

A bit flustered now, Yugi approached the woman with the blank card and hovered it around her. 

 

"Maybe you should place it on her."

 

Blushing now at being at such proximity to the woman, he touched her shoulder with the card. It felt incredibly inappropriate to do such a thing to an unconscious person, especially a woman. But Yugi continued on with his prodding. He placed it on her forehead and then her cheek. 

 

Yami would daresay that he would have possibly laughed at such a comical scene if they were in different circumstances. Yugi’s eyes suddenly came to the brooch she wore on her chest. 

 

He took some time to examine it. It was polished and diaphanous, much like the rest of the outfit. It had tendrils curling out of each corner like a compass. Now that Yugi was staring so intently at the brooch, Yami found himself examining it as well. Using his spiritual senses, he could grasp an energy emanating from the brooch. It was powerful, too, but it was as if it was shrouded by a heavy curtain. His curiosity was piqued. What would be needed to lift such a heavy curtain? Inexplicably, he felt himself being drawn to the mysterious brooch. 

 

When Yugi reached out his hand to place the card on the brooch, he almost leapt out of his skin at what happened next. Without any notice, the sailor-suited soldier shot up from the couch, taking a large gulp of air on the way up. She was now sitting on the couch with one hand clutching her brooch, instinctively protecting it. 

 

The silver-hair maiden took several, quick breaths, as if she just almost drowned, and broken the surface and finally tasted sweet air. Her eyes were shut tight, like she was too afraid to let the light pass her eyelids. Yugi fell backward, speechless. 

 

Then the worst thing happened. The mysterious woman started crying. It was as if a faucet inside her had turned on and there was no sight of it stopping soon. Tears streamed down her face and at that moment, all memory of the powerful soldier who blasted away the monsters on the field with a swipe of her staff flew away. 

 

Now all that sat in front of the two souls inhabiting one body was a fragile doll. It was like she was made of the most fragile of porcelain. Beautiful to look at, but the moment she was touched, she would break into a million pieces, never to be put back together once more. Yugi didn't know which idea terrified him more: that this was actually a dueling card come to life or that someone was trapped inside one. 

 

Yugi rose up on his knees. He was flustered because this was the first time he had ever been in the presence of a crying woman, but his natural sympathy called him to put a hand on her shoulder in attempt to calm her. 

 

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Take in a deep breath. In and out. In and out. ” 

 

The recently revived woman seemed to understand what he was saying as she did as he instructed, taking in a deep a breath and letting it out. 

 

“What’s your name?”

 

The woman paused, almost as if she was at a loss. Her eyes were still closed, but they weren’t as tight as before. Her facial expressions were more relaxed now. Yugi could discern eye moment beneath her eyelids, as if she were searching for an answer in the crevices of her mind. 

 

Her lush lips opened to speak. 

 

“Serenity.”

 

\--

 

For the longest time, the being who called herself Serenity felt trapped. The space that she existed in was two-dimensional. But how would she know what three-dimensions felt like. An answer came from a place where she couldn’t identify: it just didn’t feel flat. 

 

How did she get here? Wait, how did she even know that there was even a  _ there _ to come from? There was only emptiness when she tried to get an answer again. It was as if a thick, glass wall separated her from all the answers she wished to get to. The glass wall was opaque, blocking her from seeing what laid beyond. Or was it actually  _ shielding  _ her? As much as she wanted to bang against the glass wall, willing it to shatter and reveal the truths she desperately craved, another part of her, the weaker, cowardly part, told her that she shouldn’t. It was if it knew that if the glass wall shattered, so would she. 

 

So she waited for something else to rid her from this darkness. Time was not really of the essence in here. In fact, time did not really even exist. But she waited as if it did. When she finally saw a crack in the abyss, she didn’t know if she was ready to take the plunge. But the decision was made for her. A large hand grabbed hold of her body and dragged her out of the darkness and into the light. 

 

When she finally opened her eyes to all the colors around her, it momentarily blinded her. Suddenly, two truths became irrevocably clear to her. Her name was Serenity and she had a mission. She felt an energy pulse beneath her skin in response. 

 

All sights and sound entering her senses were filtered. It was like being underwater. She couldn’t even discern the scene that was a foot away from her. It was all so blurry. Blues. Green. Various shades of grey. One color stood out though: a shade of pink. 

 

This particular hue of cherry blossom pink drew out a sense of a familiarity. A sadness ripped through her, strong enough to tear at the delicate seams holding her together. Tears flooded her eyes before she could even realize it. Why was she crying? She didn’t know.  _ She didn’t know. She didn’t want to know.  _

 

The glass wall thickened.

 

_ ATTACK! _ The muddled word entered her ears and slithered into her mind as an afterthought. But her body went into autopilot. She did know how to attack after all. She channelled the energy that was pulsating throughout her body into her staff. Serenity yelled out words she didn’t know she knew. 

 

“ _ Silver Moon Crystal Power!” _

 

The light that exploded from her weapon blinded even her. When her eyes opened again, she realized that things were no longer blurry. Something inside and outside of her called her to turn around. Her body twisted slowly, as if this was the first time in a long while that it had been truly under her control. 

 

Her eyes fell upon a spiky-haired man who she knew did not belong in this world. Why did she know that? A voice inside her answered:  _ because you don’t belong here yourself _ .

 

She blacked out, entering the darkness once more. 

 

\--

This time the darkness was not as welcoming. The black, glass wall, which once had stood vertical, lied on its side. Now it was more of a blanket, and she the unwilling victim trapped under it. It was slowly coming down on her. She was supine, trapped between the floor beneath her and the unrelenting glass. The silver-haired woman banged against the wall, growing heavier by the minute. A sense of hopelessness flooded her. She was suffocating. 

 

“ _ NO!” _ Her voiceless cry pierced the air, “ _ there’s something I have to do. Something that  _ only  _ I can do!” _

 

With that realization, she tore herself out of the darkness.

 

When the sailor-soldier finally returned to consciousness, her lungs sucked in air like a vacuum. But the panic she felt from before still seized her core and her body seemed to take a mind of its own. Her lungs expanded and constricted under no command of her own. Tears once again flooded her eyes and she couldn’t comprehend why. 

 

“Breathe,” a voice called out to her. While her body did not seem to want to listen to her, maybe it would listen to this voice, this kinder voice. 

 

Thankful for his instructions, which had allowed her to retain control of her body, she gave her his name. One of her many names. 

 

Serenity finally opened her eyes. When she did, she realized she was still clutching at her brooch, tightly enough that its sharp crystalline tendrils were causing her pain. She let go, albeit reluctantly, and felt the pain ebb away. The woman once trapped inside of a monster card turned to look at the source of the voice that ease her way back into the world of light. 

 

An unknown force seized her at the sight of what lied in front of the sailor-suited warrior. 

 

“What are you?” she asked in a quivering tone. 

 

The figure looked confused at the question. “W-what am I? I’m human?” He was unsure of his reply, inadvertently turning his answer into another question. 

 

“No,” her eyes narrowed at the bundle of darkness floating inches to the left of him, “what are  _ you _ ?”

 

Both spiky-haired figures widened their eyes in shock at the revelation that this mysterious woman could see the spiritual form of Yami. This was the first time in a couple of millenia that someone other than the bearer of the Millenium Puzzle could see him. 

 

Still paralyzed with shock, Yugi was unable to react to what happened next. In the blink of an eye, the silver-haired beauty grabbed her staff lying at the edge of the couch and kicked Yugi in the ribs, incapacitating him. Her movements were swift and controlled, almost as if she had been through years of training to reach this kind of deadly precision. The smaller boy landed on his back, a few feet away from his original position by the couch. The woman now had her feet on either side of Yugi and her pointed staff to his throat. He gulped and the sailor soldier watched sternly as his adam’s apple bobbed up and down. 

 

“Don’t worry, kind boy. I will get rid of this darkness plaguing you once and or all.”

 

With a surge of protectiveness over his ward, Yami rushed to his side, mentally urging for the two to switch places. The small gale that overtook their body was enough to surprise their long-haired captor. In the short moment that she closed her eyes to the gust, Yami swiped his legs to knock the woman over. Now it was he with the upper hand. With no weapon of his own to hold the warrior down, he opted to use his hands. He trapped her by holding down both of her wrists down by her the sides of her head. With Yami’s larger stature, he had no trouble using his legs to pin her down by the waist as well. Noticing that her staff was at the tip of his foot, he kicked the weapon across the room, far from both of their reaches. 

 

Now that he had her in his grasp, he began studying her. Her eyes were not only cerulean blue, but speckled with dashes of silver in the irises. He didn’t have time to acknowledged that she was also scrutinizing him as his gaze glided lower. To her small, pointed nose. To her lips, currently alluringly glossy from her unmindedly biting them. She unfortunately stopped biting her bottom lip when she noticed that his hooded gaze was transfixed to that portion of her face. The entrapped woman promptly drew back her lips in a tight-lipped, harsh expression, indignant that he had the audacity to ogle her while he held her captive. He continued to examine her beneath his lashes despite her annoyance of him doing so. 

 

On Serenity’s part, one could say she was less than happy to find herself in such a predicament. She had been biting her lips out of frustration at being entrapped moments after waking up. The captured beauty tried to glare into her jailer’s eyes only to discover orbs of scarlet rivalring the purest rubies the world had to offer. Knowing that his hard gaze was aimed only at her made her feel powerless and something else that had heat coiling at the pit of her stomach. There was no denying that this man’s threat also lied in his undeniable attractiveness. Lying caged beneath him, Serenity had no other option than to bear witness to the strength generated by the rippling muscles beneath his skin. The heat generated by the man above her was unbearable as it became trapped between the two. The heat in his eyes, even moreso. The maiden was terrified at what this brooding man had in store for her. 

 

Although she did not know it, the dark spirit seemed to be as completely entrapped by her as she was by him. All his senses could focus on was her. His ears attuned to her soft, rapid breaths. His fingers on her even faster pulse on her wrists. His body searing at the places where it met with hers. Yami and his uncooperating body was entranced by the beauty that he held at his fingertips. He was fully aware of the soft, feminine curves paralyzed beneath his own hard body. But he was wholeheartedly powerless on top of her. Did she know that she held the upper hand merely due to the sight of her?

 

Trying to retain some semblance of control, he spoke with a voice several octaves lower than before, “If you would just stop trying to pierce whatever moves with your staff--”

 

“I wasn’t going to pierce anybody. I only wanted to purify--” her words were cut when Yami maneuvered for both her wrists to be held down by one of his large hands. With his free one, he drew it to encase her chin with his fingers. His thumb was just centimeters away from her frozen lips. Serenity’s face flushed at the new development and the Pharaoh thoroughly enjoyed the effect he had on the silver-beauty. 

 

“Now, now, you lost your chance to speak when you held a weapon millimeters away from Yugi’s throat,” he said, his protectiveness for his young ward flaring. 

 

As if calling the devil with one mention of his name, Yugi appeared out of the puzzle in his spiritual form. Looking at the scene before him, he immediately flushed in embarrassment. 

 

“Yami! What are you doing with my body?!” he cried out. 

 

It seems that poor timing was a genetic disposition for the Muto lineage, because at that moment, Solomon’s footsteps could be heard from the stairs. 

 

“Hey, Yugi. I heard a commotion up here just when I got in the door. What’s going on?” 

 

He ran passed the stair railing to be confronted by the most shocking scene he had bore witnessed to in all his years of life. His once sweet, innocent, wide-eyed grandson was currently pinning a girl down to the floor. When had his grandson become such a scoundrel? It was like his baby-faced grandson had grown overnight. He even looked like he had grown a few inches. The shock was just too much for the old man to comprehend and he promptly fainted onto a sofa chair that cushioned his fall. 

 

Frantically, Yugi cried out “grandpa!” before rushing to his side. 

 

Knowing that the older Muto had the heart of a bull and that it would take much more to take the man down, Yami returned his attention to the beauty underneath his grasps. 

 

“I am not some common devil possessing this body,” the dark spirit began, “Yugi Muto has granted me access to his body and in return, I have saved him and his friends countless times.”

 

He mulled, trying to find the right term for their relationship. “It’s symbiotic,” he said at last. 

 

Making sure that his grandpa was indeed alright, Yugi floated over to the pair to corroborate the ancient spirit’s story. “It’s true. I’m very grateful for all that Yami has done.”

 

Hearing the earnestness in his voice, Serenity shifted her gaze to him. Yami mourned the loss of her attention. 

 

“If that’s true, why do I sense a dark energy around you?” 

 

“My soul is simply dark. But darkness does not equate to evilness,” the dark spirit said, drawing from an ancient wisdom he could not find the source off. 

 

Confusion fleeted across the sailor soldiers face. This new information challenged everything she knew about light and darkness. Her powers drew from the light so naturally, was it not her job to expel darkness? Wasn’t this the mission she was sent on? To rid the world of all darkness. But the man above her seemed to be the antithesis to her own existence. Darkness wrapped around him like a cloak but he seemed to use his powers to protect those important to him. How could someone so tainted do such a thing as protect another? 

 

Hesitantly, she drew her lips to form a soft apology, an action that neither of the two spiky-haired figures expected. The taciturn woman beneath Yami was like a completely different person than the warrior who had him by the throat before. The ancient spirit wondered briefly, perhaps this was part of her beguiling facade. 

 

With a sincere doe-eyed look, she said, “I apologize...I swear I won’t attack you anymore. Scout’s honor. Now, will you let me go?” 

 

He clicked his tongues twice. The inner part of him who loved to play mind games reared its head out. His crimson eyes sharpened and perhaps it was a trick of the light, but a blood red tint seemed to fill the orb. Being forced to look into the man’s eyes was mesmerizing. It was like falling deeper and deeper into a swirling wine glass, never to break the surface again. Serenity was drunk at the sight of Yami and she didn’t mind. Whether he realized it or not, the shadows surrounding the ruby-eyed man flared and its dark tendrils began to wrap around the silver hair beauty, licking at her naked skin. She shuddered beneath him. The Pharaoh relished at the reminder that she was indeed trapped in his hold. 

 

In a predatory tone, the dark spirit said, “well I’ve told you about me. I think you should return the favor and tell me about yourself. It’s only polite. So what are  _ you _ ? Why were you in a monster card?”

 

Her brows furrowed in a perplexed expression, “what’s a monster card? All I remember before you summoned me was that I was trapped in a dark void. I don’t know how long I was in there or why.”

 

Now that she said it aloud, confusion flooded her thoughts. Why  _ was  _ she there? Why couldn’t she remember anything before the moment she woke up? Serenity closed her eyes and tried to unearth the memories she sworn she had, but the wall resurrected in her mind, blocking all attempts of her search for her memories. Frustrated, she started mentalling slamming on the walls, willing it to shatter, to reveal the truth to her. But the barrier was unrelenting. The only effect her banging caused was that an air of sadness began to permeate the wall, saturating her in melancholy. 

 

_ Could the barrier be protecting me from the truth? _

 

The effect was almost instantaneous. She could feel the tears well up inside her but she had no strength to hold them back so she let the dam burst. Tears flooded her tear ducts and ran its course across her watery eyeline to make its way down her lovely face. 

 

“I-I think,” she choked between sobs, “I lost something very important to me.” 

 

Yami considered himself to be very good at reading people, at seeing  _ through _ them. He simply didn’t know enough about this girl to decide whether she was lying or not, but the hurt painted on her face was too raw for him to disbelieve her. And even he wasn’t as heartless as to make a crying maiden uncomfortable. Immediately his shadows retreated their invasion from the outer-edges of Serenity’s bright soul. He relinquished his hold on the silver-haired beauty. Instantaneously, he missed the feel of her warmth and presence beneath his.

 

She drew herself up on her knees and wiped her away her tears though a few stray ones were still caught at the tips of her long lashes. The ancient spirit yearned desperately to wipe the stray tears away but held himself back.

 

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. Let me make it up to you.”

 

Without any hesitation, she rose and walked towards the passed out elder. Both Yami and Yugi watched her steps with trepidation. She was a foot away from where the older Muto slept on the chair when she held a hand up to him. A warm, gentle light emanated from her palm. The older Muto’s face relaxed and even started snoring. They couldn’t understand how she’d done it but both males knew that she had healed him. 

 

“Sorry for scaring your grandfather like that. I just healed him from any shock to his system. All his sores and aches should be gone too.” Serenity gave him a small smile. Yami was transfixed at the sight. 

 

The white sailor suited woman turned around, now laying her eyes on Yami. Every muscle of the darker spirit’s borrowed body tensed, suddenly very aware of his existence. 

 

“I should heal you, too. That was quite a kick I had dealt earlier.” 

 

Now that she mentioned it, since the adrenaline from the earlier incident had ebbed away, a jabbing pain was spreading across his lower abdomen. 

 

“Can you change back into your other form? My powers still aren’t strong enough to work directly with dark energy,” she gestured to the area around Yami, which he guessed was his dark-tainted aura. 

 

With another whirling gust, the ancient spirit relinquished his possession of Yugi’s body. Now it was the younger, much more innocent and naive spiky-haired Yugi on the floor. Serenity approached him and kneeled at the spot next to him. Her presence brought a spring-time air to her. He couldn’t help but blush at their close proximity. The maiden brought out a hand once more and held it in front of his stomach and a similar light pulsated from her hand. 

 

Now that both men were mere inches away from the source, they were wrapped in a gentle, and warm light. It was almost protective, the way the light had enclosed around them. Within seconds, Yugi’s injury had disappeared and Serenity gave him a benevolent, serene smile at his shocked expression. Yami could not help but be drawn to the peaceful, kind smile that the smaller boy had the luck of receiving. 

 

The spell-bounding healer rose up once more and seemed to begin saying something, but a wave of nausea hit her. Before she could fall to the ground, the smaller Yugi caught her. With her head cradled in his arms and hair spilling between his fingers, she gave him a dazed look.

 

“It seems…” her eyelids started to droop like curtains, “I’ve used quite a bit of energy today.” And with those words, Serenity entered another deep slumber. 

 

Yugi sweatdropped. He chuckled nervously, “well, Pharaoh. An amnesiac with mysterious powers tips the scale for weirdness. I have to say though, this comes pretty close to discovering you in the Millenium Puzzle.”

 

With his attention still on the sleeping woman, Yami only smirked in response. 


End file.
